Not Quite Magical
by Ava Demski
Summary: When Dumbledore appoints a girl who isn't muggle, but isn't quite a witch, to the post of Muggle Studies, Severus will learn what it means to see past ones own history and to accept others for who they are. *rating subject to change*


_**Please note that I do not own anything within the Harry Potter universe, etc. etc., please give credit where credit is due (and to the right people).  
I would like to state that I do "point of view changes". I do not write in the first person, so please don't think as such. Whenever I do a point of view change it's so you know what the OTHER person is thinking at any given point in time, the point of view will be obvious as you read (or should be anyway) so I will not state who it's from.  
I would also like to point out that I did hit a small...block, of sorts when writing the second POV, I will go back later to edit it once I know what to write.**_

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**Chapter One**

Maura stood nervously in her living room, mentally going through her check list one last time as she waited for her ride to get there. It was about to be the start of a new chapter in her life, a world that she'd been given a glimpse into was being wholly opened up to her. It was an exciting turn of events, something that she was enjoying, but with the excitement came her nerves as she realized she knew nothing about teaching.

She was quickly pulled from her thoughts by a soft knock at her door, one that she'd quickly familiarized herself with over the past few years. Rushing forward, she quickly opened the door, smiling up at the elderly man standing there. He was dressed in funny looking clothing, though she'd realized long ago that it was normal ware for a wizard. "Welcome, Professor Dumbledore!"

The old headmaster beamed warmly down at her as he stepped inside her home, his long white beard neatly braided and tied off in a splendid blue ribbon that she'd given him for Christmas the previous year.

"All packed up, Maura?" He inquired politely, inclining his head in the direction of her trunks that were piled up neatly off to the side as she closed the door behind him and locked it.

"I do believe so; this is all quite exciting so I'm afraid I might have lost my mind a little."

Dumbledore smiled down at her in mild amusement, his blue eyes dancing wildly as he studied her for a moment. "No need to be nervous, my dear, you will do splendidly, I have all the faith in the world in you. Now then, lets see what we can do about your trunks."

The two of them moved closer to the heavy trunks that Maura had packed up the night before, Dumbledore pulling out his wand as they neared. With a quick wave, the trunks shrank down to fit inside her pocket as they traveled. Maura didn't hesitate to do just that, placing them quickly in her pocket before turning back around to Dumbledore.

"Were you successful in hooking up my fireplace to the floo network?"

"I knew it wouldn't be too much of a problem, your connected to the floo for the next week. That will give you time to return should you find that you've forgotten something at home and need to return to retrieve it."

Smiling, Maura didn't waste any time in picking up the bag of green power that Dumbledore had given her the previous week and taking a pinch out, handing it to Dumbledore so he could take a pinch as well. "We'll be flooing to my office. Just say 'Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts.' and then step in. Shall I go first?"

She nodded slightly to his offer and stepped aside to let him through. With graceful movement that came with years of practice, Dumbledore quickly activated the floo network and whisked himself off to his office. Taking a deep breath, Maura mimicked his movements to the best of her ability, stating her ending point as clearly as she knew how as she tossed the power into the fireplace. Closing her eyes she stepped into the flames, desperately hoping that she got it correct as she knew that it could be fatal otherwise.

As her feet reaching solid ground, she popped her eyes open and took a few quick steps into the room, glancing around quickly. Slowly a smile crept up onto her face, seeing Dumbledore standing off to the side beaming at her with obvious pleasure.

Looking away from the headmaster, she took the time to look over his office. It was a circular room that reached up at least two stories if not three, though it was sometimes hard to tell with a wizard's office. Above his desk in a small alcove were pictures of elderly men, all of whom she assumed were old headmasters. The men in the pictures moved about, some missing entirely, as she'd learned to expect from pictures taken by a magical camera. She even had a photo of herself and her sister that had been taken by one, though it was safely packed away in one of the trunks in her pocket at the moment.

Turning back to the old wizard next to her, she smiled wider before nodding. "Looks like I made it here in one piece." she laughed lightheartedly.

Nodding in agreement, his own smile showing his amusement, Dumbledore motioned for her to take a seat in one of the chairs across his desk. She quickly did so, waiting to sit down until he'd taken his own plush chair.

"Now then, I'm afraid we'll have to go over some serious matters at hand before we settle you into your new rooms." The smiles slipped off both of their faces, Maura taking note of the serious attitude that the normally chipper headmaster was taking.

"As you well know, the wizarding world was in the middle of a war not eleven years ago." It was true she knew, though she also knew the Ministry of Magic was not fond of her having that knowledge. "Some are under the impression that Voldemort has not fully left yet, and while Hogwarts has proven to be safe throughout the previous years, I fear what will become of us in the future. The infant that brought down Voldemort all those years ago will be coming to this school, and some believe that should Voldemort rise again he will be after the boy."

Maura nodded slightly in understanding, she remembered what had happened those fateful few years that Voldemort had been in power. Being muggle born, her sister had been the target of one of those attacks, which was how the evil man had discovered Maura. Thankfully neither Maura nor her sister had been fatally hurt, though she could still remember the pain that had coursed through her veins when she'd stepped in front of the man's spell that had been directed at her sister.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, she turned her attention back to the headmaster, who was waiting patiently for her to return her attention to him.

"I know that you are safe from him, at least for the most part, but I need you to be warned that should he return and find out where you are, you will be in danger and being in the same place as Harry will double that danger. Are you willing to risk that?"

Steeling herself slightly, Maura sat up straighter in her seat, fixing an unwavering gaze upon the headmaster. "I'm more than willing. The man tried to hurt my sister and myself, and should he return and try to go after the boy I want to be there to help stop him in any way I can. I may not be able to do magic, sir, but we both know that I have unique abilities that will make me a good protector to the boy should the time come."

Dumbledore nodded slightly and smiled, though not as brightly as he had before. "Very good, then I see no problem in getting you settled into Hogwarts and setting up a tour of the school for you. Welcome to Hogwarts, Maura Donovan, and I wish you well as Professor of Muggle Studies. Now then, lets go get you settled in. Oh and here, a map of the school, it was confiscated from some students back when your sister was attending here, one of their earlier works, but accurate none the less."

Smiling as she took the map, Maura opened to to give it a quick once over. It was a detailed map, showing even secret passageways with writing scrawled off to the side about how to access them, even the stairs moved with what she assumed was the movements of the actual stairs themselves. Folding the map up, she pocketed it quickly before standing up. Dumbledore stood as well, smiling as he led her out of his office and down the hallways.

Excitedly, Maura glanced around herself as he led her to her quarters, memorizing the passageways quickly as well as the placement of rooms. It didn't seem to take long, though, before they reached their destination, a thick oak door that was placed off to the side in a hallway on the first floor. Dumbledore paused briefly to pull out a shiny gold key, which he handed to her with a large grin, making her shake her head slightly. She could have easily accessed the room the way one did the school house's dorm rooms, but it seemed the headmaster wanted her to feel as at home as possible.

Taking the key, she stepped forward and unlocked the door, pushing it open carefully and stepping inside. The room was nice to say the least. It was large and open, a large soft looking bed off to one side, a dresser and wardrobe set up not too far away as well as two night tables next to the bed, both of which had antique looking lamps next to them. There was a fire place across the room, a coffee table set up in front of it with two large over stuffed chairs behind it, a rug placed under the furniture. A large bookshelf wasn't too far away either, providing her with ample space for her books and things. There was even a writing desk set up as well as a small table that looked like it could be used for tea or even a late breakfast.

"Is there anything you'd like to change? I can do that for you real quick." The headmaster offered with a kind smile, obviously use to the professors changing their rooms to suit them better, though he'd have to do it for her.

"I suppose so. If you wouldn't mind changing the sheets on the bed to a warm red color and the color of the rug to black, it would be much appreciated. I can do the rest the muggle way." She carefully instructed, feeling bad for even having him do that much, but knowing that it would be easier to have the headmaster do it than if she was to try and figure out how to do it herself. Dumbledore didn't seem to mind though, as he waved his hand in the direction of the bed then the rug, the color of both instantly changing to the colors she'd wanted.

Starting slight, as she suddenly remembered, Maura quickly fished her shrunken trunks from her pocket and laid them out on the floor. They popped back up to their original size quickly, making her shoot a thankful glance back at Dumbledore, who chuckled in mild amusement.

"I'll let you get your things unpacked, if you walk through that door there you will reach a hidden hallway that will take you to your classroom and through that door is your bathroom. The only access points for the hallway are located in your room and the classroom itself so you shouldn't need to worry about wayward students stumbling about in there. I'll have Minerva come by later today to bring you lunch, and I'll ask her if she could spare the time to give you a tour as well." Dumbledore quickly spoke, moving towards the door already.

Reaching out to place a hand on the old man's arm, Maura stopped him before he could fully disappear. "I think I'll be able to manage to find my own way around the castle, besides I like to explore on my own and the map you gave me will ensure that I don't get too lost. Should I, though, I'm sure the paintings know the way."

Dumbledore smiled down at her before nodding slightly, patting her hand gently before he left the room, closing the door securely behind himself.

Once the door was shut, Maura turned back to the room, rolling up the sleeves of her black shirt as she tried to decide where to get started. Figuring she might as well rearrange things first she quickly moved to the chairs, pushing and pulling them this way and that as she tried to get them in the perfect positions.

As she moved onto her bed, a soft pop alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone anymore, that and the soft squeak of surprise. "Trixy is sorry, Miss, Trixy didn't know that you were here already!" a soft vocie squeaked out as she turned to look to see who'd joined her. Standing just off to the side behind her was a small creature with large eyes and ears. It was wearing some strange outfit, which it nervously twiddled in it's hands.

"Your name is Trixy, then...oh! You're a house elf, aren't you? I'm sorry, I've never seen a real house elf before, just ones in books I'm afraid, being muggle and all. Would you care for some tea, I'm sure I have some around here somewhere." Maura crouched down so she was eye to eye with the creature, making the small thing blush so heavily her ears turned red.

"Trixy is a house elf, yes. If Miss would like some tea, Trixy can go get some from the kitchens for Miss. If Miss is a muggle, why is Miss here in Hogwarts, though?"

Tilting her head to the side slightly, Maura took in the house elf for a moment, her smile never leaving her face. "I never gave you my name, did I? I'm Maura. Dumbledore hired me to teach Muggle Studies. I don't need any tea at the moment. You know, you're quite adorable for a house elf."

Trixy blushed again, her ears turning an even darker shade of red, though a large smile spread across her lips as well. "Thank you, Miss Maura! Trixy thinks Miss Maura is quite pretty herself. Would Miss Maura like help unpacking and rearranging, Trixy can help!"

Maura was about to decline the offer to help, but quickly remembered reading somewhere that house elves took pride in helping out wizards and witches, though it hadn't stated about their thoughts on Muggles, and that if they were sent away or denied they took it badly. So with a smile, she nodded slightly and stood back up. "I would love the help, Trixy, but afterward you must sit down with me for a small cup of tea. I'm sure you know all sorts of things about Hogwarts and I'd love to hear about it all." The house elf beamed even more at her words, obviously taking them as words of praise and compliment, and nodded wildly in agreement.

With that, the two of them set about getting the room set up. Maura would tell Trixy where to put things and with a snap of her fingers, the house elf had it done. Furniture was moved in a blink of an eye, and books flew into place on the bookshelf across the room. Her clothes danced themselves away and her nick-nacks floated into place, all guided by the tiny house elf. Once everything was put up, the house elf even made the trunks stack themselves up in the corner, out of the way.

As promised, the two of them sat down afterward, Trixy popping out only long enough to fetch some tea from the kitchens. The more the two of them talked, the warmer Maura felt towards the tiny house elf. Such a small, powerful creature, and yet so happy to serve humans. She didn't judge her for being muggle, or for the fact that she knew so little really about the magical world, instead she happily filled her in.

They sat there talking until a loud knock sounded at the door, making Trixy jump up. "That would be Miss McGonagall, Trixy likes her too. Shall Trixy let her in, Miss Maura?"

Maura nodded slightly and before she could say anything Trixy snapped her fingers and the door unlocked itself and opened, showing a slightly surprised older woman, who's hair was pulled tightly back into a bun. She quickly figured out what happened, though, as her eyes landed on Trixy, who was bouncing excitedly.

"I think I can take things from here, Trixy. Thank you for keeping Maura company." McGonagall quickly stated, her voice stern but kind.

"Trixy likes Miss Maura, Trixy thinks she'll fit in well!" The little house elf cheered before suddenly popping off, leaving Maura facing McGonagall with a small amused smile, shrugging slightly. The older woman could only shake her head in amusement as she stepped into the room, looking around briefly before focusing her eyes back onto Maura.

"I'm Minerva McGonagall, Albus asked me to come make sure that you made it to the teacher's lounge safely for lunch. All of the staff members will be there to meet you, of course, so we best hurry." Her voice was stern and strict, though it was kind at the same time. It was her eyes, though, the betrayed her curiosity towards Maura.

Standing, Maura quickly dusted herself off, though she knew that she wasn't dusty by any means, before walking towards the door, following McGonagall out. Turning around briefly, she locked the door, knowing that as she locked it she activated a spell that wouldn't allow a magical person to unlock it without the key. Once sure the door was locked, she pocketed the key and followed the other lady down the hall, silence spreading out between the two of them.

"So what do you teach?" She asked after a while, tired of the silence.

"Transfiguration." McGonagall answered quickly, her tone clipped.

Stopping suddenly, Maura crossed her arms and turned her full focus onto the other professor, waiting silently as she realized that she wasn't being followed anymore and turned towards her. "Look, I don't know what I did to you, but I don't believe I deserve this kind of attitude from you, and please don't try to tell me you're not giving me attitude. The silence if practically deafening between the two of us, and whenever I try to speak to you your very intent on speaking to me as little as possible. So spit it out, what is your problem; is it because I'm a Muggle and not a Witch?"

McGonagall's eyes widened slightly before going back to normal as she pushed her glasses up her nose in embarrassment. "I don't have a problem with Muggles as a whole, Miss. Donovan. I'm merely trying to figure out what you are bringing to the table as a professor here at Hogwarts since you don't possess the ability to perform magic."

Throwing her hands up, Maura huffed in annoyance, slightly startling the other professor at the outburst of emotion. "Honestly, you witches and wizards are so near sighted it's almost insane! Please note that Dumbledore has hired me on as the Muggle Studies Professor and think about it for a moment. Perhaps his thought process is that who is better to teach Muggle studies more so than a Muggle. I'm sure you're also bothered by trying to figure out how I'm going to teach young witches and wizards if I myself am unable to perform magic? Simple, I have certain...abilities...that hinder magic from having an effect on me, and it's also been found that I can unravel spells easily enough even if I cannot cast them. On top of that, I'll have my own ways of gaining respect among wizards, even with the playing field being off kilter. Now then, is there anything else that's 'bothering' you to the point you're going to be stuck up, or shall we continue on our way in the COMORTABLE company of each other?"

McGonagall's eyes were wide again, slightly surprised by her tone and what she had to say. It was unheard of, as far as everyone knew, for someone to be able to undo spells without being able to use magic, and it was even more unheard of for someone to be able untouchable naturally by magic. For a muggle to be able to do both was even more surprising.

Coming back to her senses, the older woman nodded slightly, before holding out her hand. "My apologies, I should not have judge you so prematurely. I do hope this wont color your opinion of me." she offered.

Hesitating only for a moment, Maura took the other professor's hand and gently shook it. "No hard feelings, I really should be use to it by now. Now then, I'm starved and I have more people that I still have to meet, so shall we be on our way?" McGonagall smiled slightly at her words before nodding and turning back in the direction of the teacher's lounge.

This time, as they walked, the two of them talked idly. McGonagall offered up some advice about teaching the students and what to expect from some of the older ones. It didn't seem to take long until they reached the lounge, the door already open, where all the other staff members sat waiting.

Dumbledore stood up with a smile as they walked in, bringing all attention onto Maura. Holding out his hand, he beckoned her to his side where there was an empty seat for her. Once she was standing next to him, he turned towards the other professor's and started the introductions.

"Everyone this is Maura Donovan, she'll be teaching Muggle Studies. As some of you might already know, she is actually a muggle, but she had unique qualifications that will make her a good addition to our staff, so please be kind.

Maura, this is Bathsheba Babbling, the Ancient Runes Professor. Over here is Professor Vector, who teaches Arithmancy. Professor Sinistra is in charge of Astronomy. Kettleburn over here is teaching Care of Magical Creatures. Charms is tought by Professor Flitwick, who is also the head of Ravenclaw house. In the Divination we have Professor Trelawney. Madam Hooch teaches our first years how to fly and is in charge of the Quidditch matches. This is Professor Sprout, who teaches Herbology and is also the head of Hufflepuff. Professor Severus Snape teaches Potions and is the head of Slytherin. And you've already met Minerva McGonagall, she teaches Transfiguration and is the head of Gryffindor. We also have Professor Binns, who is a ghost and will not be joining us today I'm afriad, and Professor Quirrel, who has not yet arrived and will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Madam Pomfrey, our school nurse, and Filch our caretaker, as well as Miss. Pince, the librarian, and of course we cannot forget Hagrid, our grounds keeper." Dumbledore quickly rattled off, motioned towards the people as the listed them off if they were in the room.

Maura tried to take in all the names with their titles as well as their faces, but knew that it would take her a while to figure them out, though hopefully she'd have everything memorized by the time school started. With a smile she greeted each one of them warmly, pausing only briefly to stare at the dark haired man that Dumbledore identified as Severus Snape. She remembered him from when she was picking up her sister from the Hogwarts Express all those years ago, a lanky boy back then he'd filled out his form quite nicely, though his dark hair still hung limply around his face. When he looked up at her, she quickly dragged her gaze away from his dark one, desperately trying to keep up with the headmaster and put the strange professor out of her mind for the time being.

* **View Point Switch***

Crossing his arms, Severus sank lower in his chair, a sneer coming across his face as he took in the chattering professors, all of them acting like nitwits in the excitement of meeting the new professor. He'd heard that she was a Muggle, quite a surprise since they taught magic at the school, though it did prove the insanity that he believe was slowly over taking the headmaster. He shot the offending headmaster a quick glance, though he didn't speak up.

Suddenly Dumbledore stood up, bringing the staff's attention to the fact that Minerva had arrived with the new professor. Severus was mildly surprised by what he saw.

Standing in the doorway was a small slip of a thing; she couldn't stand taller than five foot one and couldn't weight more than a hundred pounds dripping wet. Her eyes were silver and darted about behind thick dark eyelashes, and her golden blond hair was pulled back into a neat plait that ran the length of her back to tap just above her butt. She wore a black button down shirt that was carefully fitting to her slight form, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of dark gray slacks. What startled him the most, though, were the tennis shoes that he found on her feet, effectively dressing down the outfit that she wore.

His attention was quickly pulled back into reality as she moved to Dumbledore's side, the headmaster making quick introductions. As he rounded the table, Severus quickly darted his eyes downward, not wanting the girl to catch him staring so intently at her, it slightly disgusted him that he was so interested in a muggle anyway. He could feel her eyes linger though, and unable to help himself, his eyes darted up, catching her own.

It was as if he was being sucked in, unable to pull his gaze away from hers until she suddenly shifted it away, moving on to the next person. He remembered those eyes from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. The new professor would prove to be interesting at any rate, something he could perhaps look forwards to figuring out as the year progressed.

When introductions were done, Dumbledore and the new girl both sat down and food popped up along the table. Severus could remember a time when the food appearing so suddenly was a great novelty, though it had definitely lost it's fascination as the years drug on. Glancing to the side, he noticed that he new girl, Maura, was just as pleased by the appearance of the food as he once was, when he first came to Hogwarts.

"Severus, do you think you could do me the favor of showing Maura the grounds?" Dumbledore quickly drew his attention, making Severus frown slightly.

"And pray tell, why are you asking me this? Wouldn't the oaf Hagrid be better suited to showing her around?" He kept his voice cool, not trying to hide as much of his annoyance. He wasn't there to play babysitter to some Muggle girl who thought she could play with magic and not get burned.

Dumbledore didn't seem to notice his irritation, though, or if he did he definitely didn't act on it as he just smiled in the way only he could. "If you're not up to the task I'm sure I could ask Hagrid, however he doesn't know how to access the Room of Requirement and Maura will need to be shown that as well as how to access it. So if you could at least show her that, please Severus."

"Why does she need to know where the Room of Requirement is?"

This time Dumbledore wasn't the one to answer, though he'd opened his mouth to, as Maura easily beat him to it. "I need a training room. I don't have magic to rely on in a fight, so I must take up other means of defense. I'm sure you, of all people, know how dangerous the world can be. While I'd train outside, I wouldn't want the students walking in and accidentally getting hurt, a private area is the best idea for the time being."

Her voice didn't match her size, which startled Severus slightly. Instead of something high, as was normally associated with females, her voice was slightly husky and dark. It didn't match the innocent look she had, giving her an air of something more sultry, something more seductive.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Severus frown slightly before inclining his head. "Very well, I'll show her the Room of Requirement, but after that I'd advise you to have Hagrid show her the grounds."

Dumbledore clapped, as if to seal the deal happily, before turning to Hagrid, who'd been in conversation with Professor Sprout, to ask him to show the new girl around the grounds. The half giant didn't hesitate to agree, a large smile spreading under his scraggly beard. The large man would do anything the headmaster asked him to, it also helped that he was a sucker for meeting new people.

***Point of View Change (again)***

"Maura dear, you don't have any meat on your plate. Would you like me to pass you the lamb? You know you only need to ask." Maura looked up from her food at the matron's voice. After the conversation between Dumbledore and Snape, she'd zoned out for the most part, with drawing into herself momentarily to get her baring again.

Smiling politely, she shook her head. "That's quite alright, I'm actually vegetarian, I'm allergic to the chemical antibiotics that are given to animals to keep them healthy so most meat doesn't sit well with me. Thank you, though."

The matron didn't reply right away, blinking slightly before nodding. "I suppose it's best that you don't eat meat, then, though I'm sure I have something that would better help you handle it should you want to."

Swallowing the small bite of food that she'd taken, Maura tilted her head to the side slightly and frowned. She hadn't thought of that, the fact that the wizarding world probably had a potion or something that would help her handle meat. Then again, she'd gone so long without eating me, why would she have thought about it, she couldn't even remember the last time she had tasted pork, beef or even chicken.

"I think I'll pass, I'm use to be vegetarian and I don't think I'll always have access to any remedy that you might have so it would be best if I didn't change my eating habits now."

Before the matron could say anything more, Minerva spoke up, obviously slightly interested in the conversation that she'd picked up on. "So if you don't eat meat products, what do you eat for protein, might I ask? Does it bother you that we are all eating meat, should you take meals without us? Do we need to speak to the house elves in the kitchen so they can prepare you special meals?"

Laughing slightly, Maura shook her head. "No, no, that's quite alright. Just because I don't eat it doesn't mean that you aren't welcome to it, besides it's not like I have a moral problem with eating it, just a physical reaction. Normally I make sure to eat eggs in the morning, as they are high in protein, and I will replace meat with soy products like tofu and the such. I also like whole grains, and I try to eat nut butter when I can with bread for snacks or almonds. If you look carefully there are a lot of other places you can get good protein from. As for the meals, I think I shall speak to the house elves about it. I can eat most meals the same as you, just with a few substitutes."

Minerva nodded slightly, a small smile on her face. It seemed everyone was getting to know her, in their own ways anyway. The rest of the meal went without much else conversation on Maura's part, which she was silently thankful for. Every now and then one of the other Professors would ask her a question about herself, but she was normally able to get out of giving a detailed answer easily enough.

As everyone finished up their foods, Maura took little notice as the staff members started standing until she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. Turning her head to look up over her shoulder, she was mildly surprised to see Snape standing there; tall, dark, and brooding. He hadn't spoken to her the entire meal, save for the forced conversation between them and Dumbledore at the start of lunch. Then again, he hadn't really talk to many people, instead focusing on his food, which he finished far quicker than anyone else.

"Lets get this over with." His voice was dark and sneering, but ultimately pleasing to the ear much to Maura's surprise. She'd had a hard time pin pointing the tone over the chatter of the other staff members earlier, but it was easy now that he was talking so close to her.

Nodding slightly, she wiped her mouth with her napkin one last time before placing it on the table and standing up from her chair. Smiling to Dumbledore and a few of the other people, she excused herself politely and followed the stiff professor out of the lounge and down the hall. He didn't speak as he led her through the maze of the castle, slowly moving upward until he reached an empty hall that was a dead end. The only thing that really stuck out was a picture of two men trying to teach what looked like trolls to dance ballet.

Snape motioned towards the wall opposite of the painting as he turned to face her. "Pace in front of this wall three times thinking about what you need the most from the room, a door should then appear."

Raising a brow, Maura shrugged slightly before doing as he instructed. Pacing, she carefully thought of everything that she'd need for training purposes. At the end of her third pace she looked over at the wall, biting her lower lip as she nervously waited for the door to appear. After a moment it did, and a soft rush of air escaped past her lips in relief; she'd been worried that the room wouldn't work for her since she wasn't magical.

Moving to the door, she carefully grasped the handle and opened it, peaking into the room. It was perfect. Work out equipment lined the walls and a wrestling mat was spread out across the center of the floor for her to practice her martial arts on. There was even a small fridge off to the side with a natural energy mix on top of it.

Closing the door, she turned around to thank Snape, only to find that he wasn't there. Surprised, she walked to the end of the hall and looked around, hoping to see any trace of where he'd gone, but quickly came up blank. It wasn't a big deal, though, as she fished the map out of her pocket and decided to take the time to explore the castle, familiarizing herself with the expansive coroners and various rooms within the castle.

* * *

_**Reviews are always welcome. I'm editing chapters as I go, but keep in mind that I will sometimes miss something or other. I also realize that all of the characters don't strictly follow what most people might deem their personalities to be like from the books or the movies. I'm attempting to do the best I can to keep them as "in character" as I can, but sometimes my interpretation of a character will vary from other people's. If you review please don't flame. I don't write these stories to show off my amazing writing talents or anything of the such, it's simply something fun for me to do to pass the time.**_

_**VEGETARIAN: In no way shape or form am I encouraging/pushing anyone to be vegetarian. Please don't think that. I myself am not fully vegetarian, I like beef and chicken too much to fully give it up, but her reaction to meat is the same as mine and it's not that uncommon in reality. The main reason this is stated is for future use in the fic and to give me a better way to relate to my main character! Thank you.**_


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